Safety pins



Dec, 4, 1956 F. A. TRACHSLER SAFETY PINS Filed Jan. 25, 1954 INVENTOR. FRED A. TRAGHSLER A T TORNEYS United States Patent SAFETY PINS Fred A. Trachsler, Vallejo, Calif.

Application January 25, 1954, Serial No. 405,788

3 Claims. (Cl. 24-458) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in safety pins.

One of the disadvantages of conventional safety pins is the fact that through carelessness or when unusual strain is placed upon the pin, the pointed end sometimes is withdrawn from the protective guard which is designed to surround the point, with the result that the pin may cause injury.

One of the features of the present invention is the provision of a slide which fits over the head of a safety pin so that if the point comes out of its protective guard, nevertheless the point is shielded. The protective portion of the pin which is the subject of this invention is located at the head of the pin so that it may be conveniently moved in and out of position but, nevertheless, no matter how much strain is placed upon the pin, the guard is not displaced from position once it IS manually set.

Accordingly, it is a principal function of the present invention to provide an auxiliary guard for a safety pm which encloses the pointed end and head thereof in such manner that even if the point is removed from its proper position in the head, nevertheless, it is shielded from contact.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of means which may be rapidly and securely employed to guard a point of a safety pin from external contact Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the pin showing the guard in position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the head and guard showing the guard in extended position.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the guard in retracted position.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the safety pin is formed of a resilient wire portion having a blunt end 11 and a substantially parallel pointed end 12, both the blunt and pointed ends being of somewhat extended length. A helical coil bight 13 is formed at the juncture of the two ends of the wire portion which bight is turned substantially through 540. The bight is so formed that the two generally parallel arms 11 and 12 of the wire are biased away from each other as in the case of a conventional safety pin.

The blunt end 11 is permanently attached by welding, soldering or by a tight fit to the interior of a substantially U-shaped tubular head 16, the parallel legs 18 and 19 of the tubular head facing toward the bight end 13 of the wire. A narrow slot 17 is formed in the inward facing portion of the leg 18 of the tubular head 16 opposite the end 19 which is attached to the blunt 2,772,462 Patented Dec. 4, 1956 end 11 of the wire. The point 21 of pointed end 12 of the wire may pass through the slot 17 so as to be located and restrained by the head 16. By reason of the fact that the two legs of the wire portion are biased away from each other, once the pointed end 12 is positioned within the tubular end 18 through the slot 17, it tends to remain in position and to be concealed therein. In order to remove the point 21, the two legs 11 and 12 of the wire are pressed toward each other to the dotand-dash position shown in Fig. 3 and the pointed end is then displaced sidewardly so that when it springs apart it will clear the head 16 and assume the dot-and-dash position shown in Fig. 2.

To prevent accidental displacement of the point 21 of the pin from head 16, a guard 26 is provided. Guard 26 is a slidable member, the end 27 of which is a narrow rectangle with rounded corners, with sides 28 extending perpendicular to the end. The end of the guard 26 opposite end 27 is open. The rounded sides 29 fit around the circular head 16 and are slightly larger than the head so that the guard may slide inward and outward relative thereto. The function of the flat sides 28 of the protective portion of the guard is best seen in Fig. 3. In that figure, the point 21 is shown pressed inward so that the end is out of the slot 17 but, nevertheless, it will be seen that the point of the pin is protected by the sides 23 of the guard from contact with the exterior.

A detent 31 is formed to limit outward sliding movement of the guard and prevent it from coming oil the head. For such purpose, the inner edge of the guard may be slit as indicated by numeral 33 and curled inward as best shown in Fig. 4, the inward curled portion 31 coming into contact with the connecting or central portion 32 of the head and preventing the guard from slipping off.

It will be noted that when the guard 26 is in extended position as shown in Fig. 2, the point 21 ot' the pin can readily be removed from the head 16 and the pin used in normal fashion. However, when the guard 26 is in retracted position, as shown in Fig. 3, although the point 21 may be removed from head 16, nevertheless, the point is protected by the guard 26 and no matter what strain is placed upon the pin, so long as the guard is retained in place, the point of the pin is shielded.

Thus it will seen seen that, although in conventional safety pins a strain will remove the point from position in the head, nevertheless, the present invention protects the point of the pin from contact by reason of the fact that the purpose of the device is not to keep the pointed end of the pin inside the head but rather to place a guard around the head which protects the point even though the point is forced out of the head. Thus, whether through carelessness or strain, the point is not properly Within the head ofthe pin, nevertheless, the guard protects the wearer.

Although I have described my invention in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a safety pin, a resilient wire formed in a bight and having two normally diverging arms extending toward the end of said pin opposite said bight, the first of said arms being pointed, a head permanently engaging the second of said arms, said head being U-shaped and comprising a first and a second parallel leg and an intermediate connecting leg, said first leg secured rigidly to said second arm coaxially therewith at the end thereof opposite the bight, said second leg being hollow and formed with a slot extending inward from its end facing said first leg to a depth sufficient to receive said pointed end of said first arm Within said slot, a hollow shell guard slidably fitting over said head and having its open end facing said bight and having a depth substantially equal to the length of said head, and means to prevent slidable disengagement of said shield guard from said first leg.

2-. A pin according to claim 1 in which the means to prevent slidable disengagement of said shield guard comprises a member carried by said shield guard and positioned to engage said head to limit extended movement of said guard.

3. A pin according to claim 2 in Which the inside Walls of said shell of said guard are smooth and sub- 4 stantially straight and formed in cross section as a narrow rectangle, with rounded corners, the first and second legs of said head shaped to fit slidably against said rounded corners.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 645,679 Bryant Mar. 20, 1900 1,108,786 Pyron Aug. 25, 1914 2,292,687 Ford Aug. 11, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 367,800 France of 1906 586,921 Germany of 1933 

